Making slide fasteners



July 16, 1935. G. H. c. CORNER 2,008,062

MAKING SLIDE FASTENERS vFiled Sept. 29, 1952 I" mun "Hill-1 IN VEN TOR.

Gear e H0 Corner' BY 7gg Af ATTOR EY.

Patented July 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,008,062 MAKINGSLIDE FAsTENERs Application September 29, 1932, Serial No. 635,408 InGreat Britain September 30, 1931 3 Claims. (Cl. 29-148) i This inventionrelates to slide fasteners of the type in which each of a pair offlexible stringers, such as fabric tape, is provided along one edge witha series of interlocking elements or teeth,

called scoops, both rows of scoops passing through a slider which whenmoved in one direction guides them into interlocked relation to closethe fastener and when moved in the opposite direction Lseparates theteeth to open the fastener.

j() In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a well known type of slide fastener, with whichthis invention is concerned.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one 15 of the fastenerelements or scoops.

Fig. 3 shows a number of scoops assembled into a unitary structureconstituting one form of my invention, and illustrates a step in theprocess of manufacture of the fastener.

2 Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the structureshown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a View corresponding to Fig. 4 showing a modified form,

Fig. 6 is a section on the plane 6 6 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 shows the step in the process of manu- .facture succeeding thestep of Fig. 3.

Slide fasteners are well known having a number of scoops 20, shown bestin Fig. 2, each having an asymmetrical head portion provided with alock- 30 ing projection 2| designed to fit int the locking recess 22 ofan adjacent scoop, and also having a base or bifurcated portion with twoprongs 24 adapted to be clamped about an edge 25, usually beaded, of aflexible supporting member or tape 35 26 shown in Fig. 1V. The twotapes, thus provided with teeth or scoops are called stringers and aresecured together by a clamp or bottom stop 21 and by any suitable typeof slider 28, through which both rows f scoops pass, and which serves 40to interlock or release the scoops, as is Well known. Each of the tapesis also usually provided with a top stop 29 to prevent the slider `frombeing removed from the stringers. The tapes are sewed to the edges ofthe garment or article to be closed or fastened.

Slide fasteners of this type have heretofore been made by vfirst formingthe scoops 20 in a forming machine and subsequently clamping them, oneat a time, on the edge of the tape. 50 The' scoops must be carefullyspaced along the tape in order that .they may properly mesh with thescoops of the mating Stringer. And if the fastener is to be perfectlysatisfactory, particularly as regards ease of operation, strength, 55exibility and ysecurity when exed under strain,

the attaching of the teeth to the tape and their spacing along the tapemust be done with a high degree of accuracy. It will be appreciated thatthis requires very accurately made machines which must not only run athigh speed but also 5 maintain their accuracy and adjustment underproduction conditions, and are accordingly complicated and expensive.

Because of the machinery required, fasteners are customarily made in aproperly equipped cen- 10 tral factory where they are assembled inparticular lengths and provided with the top and bottom ,stops beforebeing sent to the users, such as clothing manufacturers. This, as apractical matter, requires the fasteners to be factory-made to exactlengths, and makes it inconvenient for the user to alter the length of afastener to suit his requirements.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a fastener unit,readily transportable and salable as an article of commerce, which canbe accurately assembled at the factory in any practical lengths, andwhich can be readily cut to desired lengths by the user and easilyassembled into a complete fastener without expensive or complicatedmachinery. This permits .quantities of stock to be kept on hand and usedas desired in any length, instead of requiring' each particular lengthtobe especially made.

Moreover, in providing an article or a garment with an opening closed bya slide fastener of this type, it has been necessary to attach the teethto a tape, as' above outlined, and sew the tape to the article to beused. The inclusion of this extra piece of tape may be undesirable,particularly in certain ne garments. It is accordingly one of theobjects of my invention to provide a method of and means for attachingthe scoops directly to the edges of a garment or other article, whichmay be practically and conveniently practiced on 40 a commercial scale.

In practicing my invention, scoops are arranged with the bifurcatedportions in Yalignment and the humps 2| all facing the same Way. Theteeth are uniformly spaced and are rmly held in this spaced and alignedrelation, until they are finally clamped to the supporting or carrierstrip. One arrangement for holding the scoops is shown in Fig. 3, inwhich the scoops, after having been spaced and aligned by any suitablemeans, are secured together by spacing members 30 which may be adhesiveand serve both to space the teeth and to secure them together. Thesespacing members may be of a suitable Vthermoplastic material, which ftemperatures. This material may be pressed or poured into a mouldcontaining the teeth and hardened between them. Suitable thermoplasticmaterials include wax, various metalsL of low melting point, such assoft solders, and others.` Alternatively the teeth may be held together,as shown in Fig. 5, on a comb which includes a backing strip 3| andspacing members 30 between the scoops and integral with the back. Thiscomb may be formed of any suitable thermoplastic material. The materialselected for the spacing and holding members is so chosen that it isreadily removable from the scoops-after the latter have been clamped tothe flexible supporting strip. For example if wax is used itmay beremoved by iiexing the Stringer to cause the wax particles to drop oif,or by brushing with a stiff brush. Metal can be removed by warming andbrushing.

The scoops are assembled on the backing strip in any desired length andmay be easily broken apart or cut off to obtainA the exact length whichit is desired to make any particularfastener. This assembly of scoops isthen placed on the edge of the article tobe fastened, as indicated inFig. 3 and the prongs are clamped about the edges of the article by thepress 11, shown in Fig; 7. This supporting strip may either be the tape,as shown in Fig. 1, or it may be the edge of a garment itself. The edgeis preferably beaded, as by hemming, rolling, or the like, or as shownin Fig. 3 by sewing a cord 25 to one or both sides of the edge of thefabric. After being removed from the press, the bonding material orbacking strip is removed in any suitable manner, as by' flexing thecarrier strip or by taking off the backing strip, according to whatmethodiof assembly has been employed. This results in a completed fas-.

tener Stringer, as shown in Fig. 1. The two stringers are then joinedtgether by the Well knoWn members in such positions, said holding meansslider, and the stops are placed at the ends of the lines of scoops.

While I have shown and described in this application one embodimentwhich my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood thatthisl embodiment is merely for the purposes of illustration anddescription and that various other forms may be devised within the scopeof my invention as defined lin the following claims.

bers being arranged in proper relative angularpositions and properspacing for attachment to a slide fastener Stringer, and moldablematerial between the head portions of said fastener members and fillingthe space. around said projections and recesses, said moldable materialbeing removable by heat after said fastener elements have been attachedto a fastener Stringer.

2. Asv an article of commerce, a freely transportable light weightelongated strip containing a series of slide fastenermembers each havingattachment means at one' end, and an interlocking head at the other endcomprising a projection on one side and a recess on the opposite side ofeach member, said fastener members being arranged on the transportable`strip in proper relative angular positions and proper spacing forattachment to a slide fastener Stringer, and temporary connecting andholding means forv holding said fastener members in such positions, saidholding means be' g adapted to be dispensed with after said fastenermembers have been attached to the stringer.

3. As an article' of commerce, a freely transportable light weightelongated strip containing a series of slide fastener members eachhaving jaws at one end, and an interlocking head at the other endcomprising a projection on one side and a recess on the opposite side ofeach member, said fastener members being arranged on the transportablestrip in proper relative angular positions and proper spacing forattachment to a slide fastener Stringer, and temporary connecting andholding means for holding said fastener being adapted to be dispensedwith after said fastener members have been attached to the n Stringer,said holding means having portions integral therewith-extending betweenthe head portions of the fastener members and interengaged i with saidprojections and recesses.

